We all have to do things in life that we don’t necessarily like to do: a project at work, doing chores around the house, going to the gym, or attending an event you don’t want to go to. That’s just part of being responsible and taking care of what needs to be done in life. While it can be tedious, boring, and unpleasant to do these activities, psychologists have developed various “mental strategies” to make these activities a little easier…

Did it ever occur to you that doing things according to a specific plan could boost your productivity? If you’ve never done this before, then, it is definitely high time to comprise a master plan. That is to say, you should establish individual goals and targets and focus on accomplishing them. This will make you accomplish an immeasurable sense of satisfaction. Balance is, of course, the key element that allows you to remain focused on your targets. But balance isn’t…

“Stop chasing what your mind wants and you’ll get what your soul needs.” When my daughter was 4 years old, she loved ice cream. She still does. One night when she was 4, on a very cold rainy night, she kept pulling me to the fridge to ask me for ice cream. Now there is nothing wrong with ice cream, is there? But at 11 p.m. (well past bedtime) on a cold rainy night, it is potentially disastrous. Now we…

They said that a goldfish has a low attention span. Little do they know, we are not any better. According to a study from Microsoft, the average human has an 8-second attention span. That is even less than a goldfish by one second. I personally believe that the number has also shrunk over time because our digital world keeps moving fast. And we are always seeking out for what’s new and what’s next all the time. You might develop an…

When you think back on your life throughout your day, are you more likely to revisit “positive memories” or “negative memories?” According to a new study published in Nature Human Behavior, recalling positive memories may play an important role in managing stress, preventing depressive symptoms, and boosting our mental health overall. Researchers set up an experiment where participants were shown either a “positive” or “negative” word on a screen, and were then asked to recall a specific autobiographical memory from…

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence Most of us have experienced explosive anger— from others and within ourselves. You were minding your own business and made a casual remark that sent your friend into orbit. What happened? You were involved in a conversation with your spouse, and a minor disagreement ensued. You became disproportionately enraged. Again, what happened? Some of our anger is justified. Much of it is not but is a reaction to a trigger…

There was a time I hated editing. There was a time I thought all the fun was in ferrying my ideas into reality, in writing them on paper for the first time around. I thought the thrill of discovery, and that strange feeling I experienced—of tapping into some mysterious sort of alternate reality—was all I cared about. But then, blunt and irreverent, time barged in as it always does. And much to my chagrin it showed me I was mistaken. In…

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” ~Johannes A. Gaertner~ For me, my Gratitude practice is my most transformative positive habit yet. It picks me up when I am down. It makes me focus on the beautiful blessings in my life, no matter how hard things may be. A gratitude practice is the first step I urge my clients towards, to kick start their healing. While…

Let’s stir the self-improvement pot and finally admit work-life balance never really existed. This life concept is more of an ideal way to live than reality. Now this may upset some who continue to sell and make money off this never really existed life concept. What does exist and what is real is work-life alignment. Imagine for a moment two wheels connected. One of those wheels is your personal life and the other one is your professional life. When both…

How we relate to language – we paint our faces with it yet we need a tool, a mirror, to see the end result of our efforts. It has always fascinated me how we relate to language. We use it every day, constantly and quite skillfully. Yet we know little about how it works. Think of it. We yell at the dog to get him off the sofa. We pause a moment to make sure we have actually scared the…

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence “Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore My heart was beating out of my chest. This was it. It was the last day of my sophomore year of Highschool. This felt like my last chance to ask a girl I had a crush on out before the school year ended. I had hyped myself up all week for…

In 2015, I made a New Years resolution. At the start of each day, I would review what I had done the previous day and log it in a text file. This wouldn’t be literally everything (Otherwise it would get rather tedious); just things that were worth remembering or indicated some kind of action had been taken that would move me forward, no matter how small. If I made a new recipe, it would go in. If I saw a…

If you suffer from social anxiety (or you’re just a very shy person), you’ve likely developed little ways to make your day a tad easier and less stressful, whether it’s at school, work, home, or just out walking in public. We all get socially overwhelmed sometimes, and in those situations it can be helpful to have “tiny hacks” to help you get by without causing a scene or going into full-on panic mode. Here’s a comprehensive list of these tiny…

At the time of writing, there are 7.6 billion people on Earth. About 360,000 humans are born every day. And the population will only rise. It has been estimated that by the year 2100, the population will grow to 11.2 billion people. You are one of the billion people living on this planet right now. Even more people have come before you and will come after you. Out of all these people, you think you’re special? Let me tell you…

It’s essential to have some hobbies and interests to help us restore our vital juices when they’re running low. I love reading and writing. Actually, some books, I’m so glad I’ve read them I consider myself a lucky person. Just for that. But no matter how deep my love for reading and writing is, I could never sit at my desk for hours and hours every single day. And keep on reading and writing. Fact is, after a while I’ve…

Do you make an investment in your own professional development? If you don’t, shame on you. With the speed of change at rapid pace, to not work ON yourself means you are truly behind the flow. Yesterday I invested over 13 hours of my time attending a seminar offered by Ari Galper. I did this to make my quarterly goal of 25 hours of professional development away from my office. To be truthful I was somewhat cynical of this seminar…